John Andretti’s Race to Beat Cancer

The name Andretti is one of the biggest names in all of Motorsports. Now John Andretti is having the biggest fight of his life, but he wants you to know the importance of getting a colonoscopy. At this point in time John is battling stage 4A colon cancer that has spread to his liver.”You know how much I really didn’t want to talk about this or do this, because I don’t want it to be a story about me. I’m more worried about Riley and St Jude and other kids and helping them. But the way to help your family is if you don’t do it for you, do it for your family. Because everybody’s life that you affect, that you’re a part of, I think is really important,” said (John) Andretti.

As we all know, John has a huge sense of humor and he is continuing to use that through this long and painful process of chemotherapy. As of now John has completed 4 rounds of chemo. He will complete 6 rounds and then he will have a month off before having surgery in June to remove the tumor from his liver. He will then continue his chemo after the surgery, but this time he will add a new drug in his chemo to fight the liver cancer. The average patient usually last about 9 rounds of chemo out of the 12, but the doctors believe that John will last all 12 considering he will have a month off. I had the chance to catch up with John’s son Jarett Andretti also a Mooresville, North Carolina native, Jarett races the USAC (United States Auto Club) national Sprint Car schedule. I asked Jarett “with being a sprint car driver on the USAC tour does this situation effect or interfere with your racing”? “Racing is a release for us, it is an escape from what is happening around us which is one of the beautiful things about the sport. When I am racing I don’t think about the situation unless people ask me about it so it is a good break from everything that is happening” Andretti Stated. “Is your dad the kind of guy that just wants you to go to the track because he knows that is what you love to do”? “Yes, and he enjoys following along and being engaged with the race team. We built the team together and we are very proud of it” Andretti said. “How is your family taking in the situation and how did Michael (Cousin of John and IndyCar owner) react when he found out”? “It had a big enough impact on Michael that he went to get a colonoscopy” Andretti explained.

We will have more coverage on John’s battle through defeating cancer over the next few weeks. John is “In it to win it”.

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